


Chasing Shadows and Leading Light

by cheshireArtist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Alive James and Lily, Angst, Boy-Who-Lived Twin, Character Death, Creature Fic, Creature Harry Potter, Creature Mates, Dead Peter Pettigrew, Dumbledore Being a Dick, Dysfunctional Family, Dysfunctional Potter Family, F/F, F/M, Family Secrets, Harry Potter is Not a Horcrux, Harry Potter is Not the Boy-Who-Lived, Hidden Creature World, M/M, Manipulative Dumbledore, Mentions of miscarriage, Multi, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, The Evans are not fully human, Twin-fic, Wizarding World Bashing, mentions of torture, only somewhat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 17:06:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9394865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheshireArtist/pseuds/cheshireArtist
Summary: “Oh, my little Hadrian,” Aster whispered softly, brushing his little cheek with her thumb, “You have such a future ahead of you…you and your brother both.”Life for young Hadrian Potter changed the night Voldemort attacked, revealing he was not as human as his twin brother, Alexander. Taken in by his odd Great Aunt Aster after his parent’s untimely deaths, Hadrian Evans, otherly known as Harry, knows little about where his came from and even less about his future. His only concern is trying to master summoning his familiar and getting his acceptance letter to The British Academy for the Creature Art. That is, until the unlikely happens and his world starts to unravel around him.Meanwhile, Alexander Potter's family is falling apart around him. Nothing has been right since that Halloween night and the death of his younger twin brother and the betrayal and death of former family friend, Peter Pettigrew. His father's a workaholic, his mother’s is a ticking time bomb of emotion, and his Godfathers feel like the only bit of stability he has left. Hogwarts should be his salvation, but it only adds to the mounting pressure steadily piling onto his back as the Wizarding Word's Savior.





	1. The Boy Who Live and the Boy Who Disappeared

**Author's Note:**

> This is a complete and utter re-imagining and rewrite of my story 'Legacy of Shadows' on Fanfiction.net. A lot about the plot has changed and I hope the community likes it. I'm very open to criticism, so feel free to drop some on me. Just don't be rude please. 
> 
> -Chesh

_“Now I want you to watch after the boys, Umbra.”_

They watched as a hooded figure approached the quiet house in Godric’s Hollow; the lights were out, all the children that had been running around the streets had been ushered to bed, and the street felt eerily quiet. No sound was made as they fell into step behind the figure, the moon, nearly full, gleaming off their bone white mask. The two of them approached the door, the figure not aware of their presence, and all at once the shadowy being that was Umbra sunk into the ground, becoming one with the shadow of the wizard that they were tailing.

The man shivered despite himself, glancing over his shoulder with an unease much unlike himself. The already chilly air around him felt as if it had dropped. Shaking his head, the wizard straighten his back just as the door opened.

“M-my Lord,” A portly man stuttered out, eyes darting about as the Dark Lord towered over him, staring down at him with gleaming red eyes. He swallowed thickly, chewing at his bottom lip as he bowed, seemingly contemplating something, though, whatever it was, it didn’t seem there was any way to turn back now.

“Where are the twins, Wormtail?” Voldemort asked, voice coming out in a wispy hiss from the shadows of his cloak.

“U-Up St-stairs, my Lord!” The man, Wormtail, replied wringing his hands, glancing off to the side again. He nearly jumped at the Dark Lord’s glower and took that as a cue to lead his master upstairs.

Umbra slipped into Wormtail’s shadow as the two ascended the stair case. The stairs creaked with every step and it seemed to make the Death Eater tense. Unlike the cold and calculated determination they could sense off the man before, Voldemort he gathered, Peter Pettigrew was a bundle of tangled nerves and…regret? Hm…that might make things a bit more interesting.

They reached the nursery within a few short minutes and Peter’s anxiety grew and bubbled in the pit of his stomach. Of course, Lily and James could always have more kids, he tried to tell himself. They could have been here instead of him and, knowing his Lord, Voldemort would have likely killed them without a moment’s hesitation. He was practically saving their lives.  He bit into his lower lip again, looking around the nursery, at the soft blue walls and white trim. His eyes fell on the forest mural on the far wall and the painted figures of a stag, doe, dog and wolf all looked at his accusingly…even the little figure on the rat between the Stag’s antlers seemed to look at him in scorn in its beady eyes. Voldemort, getting impatient, shoved Peter forward and he stumbled towards the crib.

Gripping on the sides to catch himself, he was met with the sight of the two sons of his best friend…James…James’ only kids. The same ones he was allowed to hold when they were first born. The big hazel eyes of Alexander stared up at him curiously as he babbled around his fist, and meanwhile the equally as big emerald eyes of Hadrian stared up at him as well as he made grabbing motions with is little hands. Peter…Peter couldn’t do this. His grip tightened slightly and he could hear the blood rush to his ears and his rapid pulse, and slowly turned to face Voldemort, reaching for his own wand.

Umbra, who had long since moved the shadow of a lamp, had watched the scene play out with the strange detachment they watched most things, though they couldn’t help but feel slightly surprised. Peter had taken out his wand against his former master, whipping out a cutting curse that Umbra, honestly, thought that he wouldn’t be capable of. Of course, the Dark Lord deflected it, the spell smashing into the dresser and startling the babies in the crib, both of which were now crying. The animagus had launched another cutting curse, shaking slightly, and Voldemort just laughed.

“My, my…looks like someone had finally gotten brave…or maybe the right word here would be foolish,” Voldemort mocked, brandishing his wand, and Peter didn’t even have enough time to speak before his life was cut short by a shout of “Avada Kedavra!” A bright flash of green and the former Death Eater hit the ground with a thump with the twins wailing in the background.

The Dark Lord kicked the body aside and approached the crib, sneering down at the two twins. Snot and tears covered their little faces and Voldemort couldn’t help but cringe, being vividly reminded of the brats at the Orphanage where he spent his childhood. He couldn’t wait to be rid of these children.

“Wormy?” Alexander whimpered, tears dripping down his chubby cheeks as the Dark Lord loomed over them. Hadrian, sobbing openly, tiny fist clenching his twin’s jumper.

“You’ll be seeing that sniveling rat soon, little Potter,” Voldemort smirked, pointing his wand directly at the child’s forehead, before saying those two terrible words, and the room lit up green.

Umbra moved out of the shadows as soon as the spell was uttered but froze as the green dissipated to reveal a now defiant looking Alexander (despite the blood dripping from a lightning bolt-like cut on his forehead) and a golden shield between Voldemort and the twins. Hadrian was still gripping the other boy’s arm tightly, eyes wide as he took in the glistening shield now surrounding them. Voldemort was stunned.

It swirled green for a moment before it built up all in one area and shot forward, hitting it’s original caster in the chest. His screams filled the room as the force of the spell ripped at his flesh, peeling it from his bones and reducing it to a pile of ash and bone in what remained of his cloak, wand hitting the floor with a resounding _thump_. After that the golden shield retreated back into the redhead, Alexander’s eyes rolled back into his head and the baby collapsed.

Hadrian let out a panicked screech of “Lex! Lex! Up Lex!” shaking the other boy, tears more tears dripping down his chin.

Due to the magical backlash, the room started crumble, a chunk of ceiling falling off directly above the crib. Umbra darted forward, attempting to block it from hitting the children, but something else blocked it first. From around Hadrian as black smog rose, wrapping around the twins like a snug blanket, shielding them from the debris. When the shadows dissipated the black haired baby was left in much the same state as his twin.

_“And if one of them shows the potential bring him to me…the Wizards would only use him.”_

_“ **Yes my Lady."**_

Umbra stared down at the two unconscious infants, bringing a black, clawed hand to rest on Hadrian’s little chubby cheek. He brushed his fingers against the now pointed ears on the young one with, if he didn’t have their mask on, what could be seen as a smile. An Heir…someone possessing the Evan’s true bloodline. Something their Lady had hoped for young Lily, but she had developed Wizarding magic instead…what a waste. Gently, the shade bent down, cradling young Hadrian in their wispy arms. Lady Aster will be most pleased and, in time, young Hadrian will realize that being left among the likes of Witches and Wizards would have only spelled him harm and heartbreak. Before they teleported away, the shade reached into the crib again, picking up a small stuffed dog…they…they wanted Hadrian to at least have something familiar once they got to the manor.

With that, the creature disappeared along with young Hadrian James Potter, and just after the telltale sound of apparition could be heard outside the house, followed the anguished scream of one Lily Potter when she reached the nursery.

On October 31st 1981 Voldemort was vanquished by one Alexander Charles Potter, who later became known as The-Boy-Who-Lived, but it also became the day for the Potter family that the life of their youngest son was snuffed out with a spell so powerful they didn’t even have a body to bury. It would become the day where Lily Potter would lock herself away for years to come, crying to herself alone in their bedroom, wishing she just said no to that damn Halloween Party. It would become the day James Potter through himself into his work, bound and determined to catch every Death Eaters out there even if he worked himself into the ground. It would become one of many where Sirius Black and Remnus Lupin would have to take in young Alex in their parent’s stead as they mourned, mourning themselves. And for young Alex…it would be the first day of many where he would feel a hollow ache in his chest and a yearning for someone else to be standing beside him in the world. Indeed, October 31st would never be a good day for the Potter family again.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, an old woman with thick and long, braided white hair sat in the large, black armchair, a slumbering child in her arms, sucking his thumb as he curled into her chest. She stared at the crackling fire with narrow, cat-like, green eyes, pale fingers carding through the infant’s pitch black hair. A large black leopard snoozed at her feet, muzzle, speckled in gray, opened in a yawn as she shifted the baby in her arms yet again. It’s been so long since she’s held a baby…that last one she held was her youngest niece, Lily. The headline of the daily prophet, something she only subscribed to keep tabs on the wizards, ran through her mind, worry building in her gut. The-Boy-Who-Lived…what a ridiculous title to give a one year old.

She looked down the baby in her arms and felt her harsh gaze soften ever so slightly and her lips curled into a small, but sad, smile.

“My little Hadrian,” Aster whispered softly, brushing his cheek with her thumb, “You have such a future ahead of you…you and your brother both.” 

Her smile then turned a touch bitter as she looked down at the sweet face of the babe in her arms, his little fingers wrapped around the leg of the plush dog Umbra brought with him. Such a precious child. He would never know about his brother, his mother and father. She wouldn’t-no, she couldn’t risk it. Wizards and Witches just couldn’t be trusted, not with someone of their blood…not even her own niece could be trusted. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her long, pointed ear, tracing the scar that extended from behind that ear and down her neck. Never again.


	2. The Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimpses into Alexander Potter's childhood, a chance meeting, and the beginning of his journey to Hogwarts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for any ooc of James or Lily. I don't really have that much experience writing them but hopefully I'll get better at writing them as time goes on. 
> 
> I hope you all like Alex. 
> 
> As always critics are welcomed. 
> 
> -Chesh

_He found out in the worst possible way it seemed…_

It was his seventh birthday and Alex was spending it hiding in a cupboard in the kitchen. It was pretty common occurrence. When Alex got overwhelmed he would hide, and the party going on out in ballroom of the Potter Manor was pretty overwhelming. He never exactly did well with people, unlike his godfather, Sirius, who had charisma in spades. It was weird. It was just plain weird for someone to hide from their own birthday party. He sighed softly, resting his cheek against the wooden door, only to stiffen when he heard the hurried clicking of heels and the squeak of shoes.

“Where did he run off to now, James,” He heard his mother’s slightly aggravated sigh followed the scraping of a chair on the wooden floor, “Why does he always do this?” Her voice sounded slightly muffled so Alex assumed she had her face resting in her hands.

“He’s just a kid, Lily,” The sound of someone pouring something followed that statement, “He’s always been a bit shy and the Minister is pretty…forward. I wouldn’t blame any kid for being scared of him.”

“I know, I know James, but…neither of us are like that, though. I just don’t understand where he gets it,” His mother replied, followed by the sound of sipping. Alex could practically see her running her fingers through her hair, something she always did when she was stress and something Alex did too.

He imagined his father shrugging, scratching the scruff on his jawline. He noticed that yesterday…James hasn’t shaved in a while. There was a long pause between the two and only the clanging of ice cubes could be heard.

“Do you think Harry would have been like this?” Lily asked suddenly, voice sounding a bit tense. Alex froze, hazel eyes going wide.

There was another long pause before the scrapping of chairs could be heard again, “I…let’s just go check upstairs, Lily…I think he hid the attic again.” Footsteps could be heard again and Alex was left there, frozen in the cupboard trying to figure out why that name made his heart ache in his chest.

_He didn’t trust his parents to tell him the truth, so he went to who he thought would..._

“Who’s Harry?” Was a question Alex ended up asking his Godfather a few weeks later during his usual weekend visit. Sirius then proceeded to choke on his tea, which, the young redhead had to admit, made him giggle slightly. The tea ended up staining the front of his robes when it dribbled down his chin.

“Where did you hear that name, Alex?”

“I…I was hiding during my birthday party and heard Mum ask Dad ‘Do you think Harry would have been like this’ when they were looking for me,” The redhead explained, squirming in his seat and looking at his shoes.

Sirius let out an uncharacteristically heavy sigh and slumped in his chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He set down his tea and looked at his godson with a mournful smile.

“Harry…Harry was your brother,” He explained before waving his wand and book came flying in from the other room and into his hand. He placed the book on the table between them…it was a photo album. Sirius flipped to the first page, showing two newborns held in the arms of a tired Lily Potter; one had a tuft of red hair on his head and the other a tuft of black hair. The picture, like all wizarding photographs, moved; Lily laughed soundlessly at something the camera man, presumingly his father, said, the baby version of him squirmed and the black haired baby yawned. Alex sat up on his knees, watching the photo in fascination, eyes glued to the black haired baby. Written below the photo in his mother’s familiar and neat cursive script was “Alexander Charles & Hadrian James- Just Born”.

At Alex’s silence Sirius continued on, “Hadrian, well, we mostly ended up calling him Harry, was born about five minutes after you were. Rather unexpected too might I add. Apparently the Healers didn’t see him because he was hiding behind you in your Mum. He was really small…your Dad was afraid he was going to drop him if he held him.” He turned the page to another picture…apparently Alex and his brother as babies laying in the same crib squirming around like babies do. They were a bit bigger in this picture, though Harry still looked a bit tiny compared to Alex and their eye color had come in. Harry had their mum’s eyes. Alex reached over and took the picture out of the album.

After a while of staring at the picture held tightly in his hands Alex looked up and asked in a near whisper, “What happened to him, Padfoot?”

Sirirus looked away for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck, trying to think of the right words to say. He wasn’t really good at this sort of thing…more of Remus’ criteria to be honest. “He…he died…on that Halloween,” He murmured, not looking his godson in the eye. It should have been James and Lily telling him this…not Sirius. 

Alex clutched the photo tightly, feeling a tightening his chest. He blinked rapidly, vision blurring with tears. So…Harry died on the night Voldemort came to kill him. His shoulders shook slightly and he let out a hiccup followed by a sob. Sirius got up quickly, rushing to his godson’s side.

“Hey, hey…it’s not your fault,” Sirius said, wrapping his arm around the boy’s shoulders, hugging him to his side. Alex didn’t say anything, just clenched his godfather’s robes in one hand and the picture in the other. The redhead buried his face in the man’s chest, muffling his sobs and surely getting tears and snot on expensive robes.

Sirius said it wasn’t his fault but as children often do Alex did indeed blame himself. Voldemort came after him, and, after all, if Alex wasn’t around then Harry wouldn’t have died.

_A child’s logic. Things aren’t really that simple, but he was seven and he really didn’t know that, now did he?_

He never did tell his parents he knew, though. Sirius assumed he told them but Alex could never work up the nerve to confront them about it…or really, confront his mother about it. His father was always working and by the time he got home Alex was usually already sleeping. It all came out two years later, though.

Lily had knelt down, an actual happy smile on her face. She took his hands in her’s said excitedly, “Guess what, sweetheart? You’re going to be a big brother.”

Something that had been simmering in Alex for the past two years came boiling to the surface, and the redhead scowled and ripped his hands from his mother’s grip. She looked rather shocked, but when Lily opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, Alex opened his first.

“Stop it!” The child shouted, stomping his foot on the ground and glaring up at Lily accusingly, “Stop trying to act like he never existed!”

“Who are you-“

“Harry! Stop trying to replace Harry!” He screamed, tears dripping down his cheeks. Lily went chalk white and before she could say anything else Alex ran off. Lily found herself sinking fully to the ground, tears of her own beginning to drip down her cheeks as she let out a choked sounding sob and covered his face with her hands.

Hours later Alex was curled up in a corner of the Potter owlry, petting the family owl, Mercury, with his cheek resting on his knees as he stared out the window. He tensed when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs and bit his lip. He felt bad, yelling at his Mum like that, but he wasn’t looking forward to apologizing. In his point of view his reaction was in the right. They didn’t have the right to not tell him about Harry for years and then just up and replace him with a new baby.

He didn’t look as someone took a seat next to him, but he could tell in the reflection from the window it was his dad. He was home early. Mercury let out a hoot, stretching his great brown wings and flew off to his roost.

“Hey champ,” James said placing a hand on Alex’s shoulder for only it to be shrugged off. Frowning, James continued, “Alex…how do you know about H…Harry.” It was still difficult for him to get out the name, even now.

“I…I heard Mum say his name when you and her were talking in the kitchen on my seventh birthday…I was hiding the cupboard, not the attic,” The redhead explained, curling a bit more in on himself as he glared out the window, “I asked Padfoot.”

There was a long silence after that before James spoke up again, “Son…why didn’t you ask us?”

“Why would I? You didn’t tell me about him in the first place,” The boy said, finally turning his head to glare at his father straight on, “And now you’re trying to replace him.”

James’ face was downcast, the glare of his glasses obscuring his eyes and he ran a hand through his messy hair. Letting out a heavy sigh James shuffled closer to Alex and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling the boy to his side.

“…We’re not trying to replace him, Alex…no one can replace Harry.”

“Then why-“

“Why didn’t we talk about him?” Alex nodded, finally relenting and pressing his cheek against his father’s chest almost tiredly.

“It…it’s hard. We didn’t want you to grow up blaming yourself for what happened…we said we would tell you when you were a bit old, but that wasn’t the right thing to do I guess. It wasn’t fair to you and it wasn’t fair to Harry,” James smiled a bit, though it was tight and honestly sad as he looked down at his son, hugging him a bit tighter to his side.

“...No more secrets then?” Alex whispered, voice slightly muffled by his Dad’s auror robes.

“No more secrets, Marauder’s honor,” James promised, grinning a little despite himself and ruffling Alex’s hair slightly. The boy ended up cracking a small smile at that and shifted slightly to hug his father around the waist. James hugged him back, holding his son close.

“Let’s go apologize to your Mum now, Champ,” And at that Alex nodded, and got up.

_They painted the room next to Alex’s pink a few months later…he was going to have a little sister. Fate didn’t want that to happen though, and his baby sister was lost before she was even born. They repainted it a year later a soft blue, but that little brother was lost too, born as blue as his room. Now it just sits collecting dust._

Now eleven years old, Alex walked through a crowed train station, pushing a cart beside his parents. His new owl, Hedwig, let out a soft hoot from her cage, her wide, yellow eyes staring around at the muggles surrounding them with a mix of annoyance and curiosity. He trailed behind his parents a little and reached up to smooth his messy hair over his scar with a frown. He hoped they beat the presses, he was practically praying.

Suddenly someone bumped into him a little, and Alex cringed, entire body tensing as he came to a stop. His parents probably didn’t realized that they were getting ahead of him.

“Sorry!” The other boy exclaimed, smiling a bit sheepishly at him, pale cheeks turning pink, making the freckles there stand out a bit more. His hair was pitch black and hung at his shoulders, and he was several inches shorter than Alex himself. Alex was naturally a bit on the tall side though, so that was normal.

“No, its fine,” The redhead said slowly, his own hazel eyes locking with the boy’s own bright emerald green. The bright eyes fell onto Hedwig and narrowed slightly in suspicion it seemed, and Alex only responded by raising an eyebrow.

The boy opened his mouth seemingly to ask a question before he was cut off by a stern sounding woman shouting, “Evans! Stay with the group!” He whipped his head around and gave Alex one more shy smile and waved slightly before running off in the opposite direction it seem of Platform 9 ¾ . Probably just a muggle then. He couldn’t shake the feeling, though, that he met that kid before. Shaking his head, the boy resuming pushing his cart at a bit of a faster pace to catch up with his parents.

Soon they crossed over into the wizarding station and thank Merlin they managed to dodge the press. James helped him load his trunk on the train and gave him a rather tight hug and ruffled his hair. Lily gave him an as equally as tight hug and kissed the top of his head, making the boy blush. He was a bit too old for that, thank you very much. He was honestly sad that Remus and Sirius couldn’t come to see him off with his parents, but Remus’ furry problem had affected him extra hard this time and his honorary uncle was still recovering.  He didn’t want to make him come out for him only to get sick, and Sirius needed to look after him.

Alex somewhat reluctantly got onto the train and had climbed into the first empty apartment he could find. It was sitting there, looking out at his waving parents, that he felt a sudden surge of loneliness hit him. That he should have someone in this compartment with him. He felt the same thing when he went shopping for his school supplies, when he got his wand, his owl, and even his cauldron. Harry should have been getting his own wand, his own pet and his own supplies right beside him. He should have been ogling the brooms with their dad or browsing the books with their mum. Its days like today that Alex felt that heaviness in his chest grow and he just wanted to yell and scream that this just wasn’t fair.

Sighing, trying to push those feelings back, Alex took out a school book and began what he did best, read. The train whistle blew and station began to slowly disappear into the distance. He was finally off to Hogwarts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be a similar chapter for Harry and his childhood. 
> 
> It'll also reveal more about what creature Harry and Aster are. ;)
> 
> Until next time.
> 
> -Chesh

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed the story c: More to some soon hopefully. I'm sorry if my updates are a bit slow.


End file.
